Time To Buy The Toy

Phillip wants to buy a '79 Camaro for nostalgia purposes for $5,000. Phillip makes $90,000 a year. His wife also works and makes more than he does. Can they afford this car? Dave says yes.

QUESTION: Phillip in Kentucky is considering buying a car as an investment. He wants to buy a ’79 Camaro for nostalgia purposes for $5,000. Phillip makes $90,000 a year. His wife also works and makes more than he does. Can they afford this car? Dave says yes.

ANSWER: Yes, I would buy the car. You’re in good financial shape. You make a ton of money in your household. You’ve done smart things and gotten yourself out of debt. You have your emergency fund in place. A $5,000 toy is affordable for you. I would write the check and buy the car.

That’s living like no one else so that later you can live like no one else. Maybe your thing is not a ’79 Camaro. Shut up. You still have your thing. Some of you spend that on a couch. Some of you spend that on a single piece of furniture. Some of you spend that on a single piece of jewelry. Some of you spend that on a single outfit. I don’t care what your thing is. It doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that your thing motivates you to go win. Live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else.

What’s your thing? What does living like no one else look like for you? If you work your butt off and you save and you live on less than you make and you’re responsible and you take care of business and you take care of your family and you build some wealth and you’re a giver, then enjoy some of your money. That’s what it’s for. If all you do is pile it up, you have a mental disorder. If all you do is give it away, you have a mental disorder, because then you’re not going to have any to give away because you gave it all away. You’re mathematically challenged on how this money thing works.

You need to be able to win with money. Part of winning with money is getting yourself out of debt, learning to live on less than you make on a written plan, learning to communicate in quality ways with your spouse, building that emergency fund, building that retirement fund, building the kids’ college fund, getting the house paid off, and if you’re making $200,000 a year and want to buy a toy, buy one. That’s what winning looks like. That’s called maturity. That’s an adult making an adult analysis in an adult situation. That’s not some goob who bought a classic car and has it in his basement fixing it up and his kid’s college fund isn’t funded. That’s not some goob whose house is behind on payments and facing foreclosure because he doesn’t have an emergency fund because he got laid off, but he has a great car in the basement. That’s not what I’m talking about. That’s the difference between a little boy and a man and a little girl and a woman.

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